In the Light Emitting Diode (LED) industry a variety of different technologies are used when manufacturing a complete functional LED-module that includes the LED-package or die and the necessary wiring or circuits. LED-modules are manufactured in different ways from the typical 5 mm through hole signaling components to Chip on Board. At this moment, for general lighting, surface mounted technology (SMT), is the dominant technology. SMT is automated and places components for an electrical product on a printed circuit board (PCB).
It is a continuing and natural trend in the LED industry to try to make the LED-packages more powerful, having a higher light emission output per surface area. A problem arising when making the LED more powerful is that the LED, in spite of its high energy efficiency, generates heat in amounts affecting the efficiency and lifetime of the LED. It is thus a problem to lead away the heat when increasing the power input/output of the LED-packages.
To solve the heat issue, heat sinks of different kinds are used. A known way is to use capped filled vias in the PCB to lead heat through the PCB to a heat conductor on the backside of the PCB. The heat conductor is often part of a metal heat sink that is exposed to the ambient air. Using vias for heat conduction is, however, both costly and sets demands on electronic insulation, limiting and complicating the design of the component and its PCB.
Another option, disclosed e.g. in U.S. Pat. No. 7,282,740, is to design and manufacture more complex LED packages, with integrated optical and heat sink capabilities. While this partly addresses the problem, it requires specially adapted LED packages. In order to achieve cost efficient production of LED modules, it is normally preferred to use standard LED packages, which are manufactured in large volumes.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved way to achieve satisfactory heat dissipation, which can be implemented in cost efficient manufacturing processes.